The International Criminal Court (ICC) has authorised
investigations into alleged war crimes by US troops and Sunni
fundamentalist group Taliban in Afghanistan, triggering potential
confrontation with the American government.
The
decision on Thursday by the ICC Appeals Chamber means that prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda can go ahead and investigate the conduct of US troops
since May 2003 when they entered Afghanistan ostensibly to fight the
Taliban.
It also means the Court had overturned an
earlier decision of a trial chamber which disallowed the probe after
finding that it could not serve justice.
“The Office
will now proceed to conduct a diligent and thorough investigation into
this Situation. The investigation will be independent, impartial and
objective. This is what the Office is legally mandated to do, and it is
what we are committed to doing,” said Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, adding
that there won’t be timeliness on how long investigations could take.
“All
the decisions that I, as Prosecutor, will take will be strictly in
accordance with my mandate, as stipulated in the Rome Statute
establishing the ICC,” she said in a statement.
But the
move could bring tension with Washington, which is not a member of the
ICC and has a law that authorises its security forces to rescue any of
its nationals arrested and presented to the ICC for trial.
The decision also comes just five days after Washington announced a peace deal with the Taliban.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately released a statement warning that no US troops will be investigated.
“An
ICC investigation with respect to US personnel is illegitimate and
unjustified. The United States will take the necessary steps to protect
its sovereignty and to protect our people,” Pompeo said.
The Trump Administration had previously denied Bensouda a visa to the US when she sought to travel there last year.
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